Cuteness in Austin

April 21, 2008 12:25 PM

Shopping in Austin recs: cute, unique clothes for girls and cute, unique housewares with middle range prices.

I've seen the other Austin threads, but none seemed to cover this. Near the university preferred, but willing to drive as well. Middle range is under $100 for a dress say.

posted by dame to travel & transportation (8 comments total)

Try the shops of South Congress. Lots of great shops and restaurants down there.
posted by ColdChef at 12:36 PM on April 21, 2008

Ditto Coldchef.

Less walkable, but generally cheaper is South 1st.
posted by Seamus at 12:49 PM on April 21, 2008

I really like Zinger Hardware for "unique housewares." It's on Anderson Lane, not really near UT, but worth the drive. Sounds like you might also like Anthropologie.
posted by mattbucher at 2:27 PM on April 21, 2008

South Lamar is good for this, too. Strut, Hush Hush (which is the sort of "sample sale" for Strut and has some AWESOME things, like their wall of $10 shoes), Marigold of India, Sola, a few others I can't remember.

Personally? I have been finding AWESOME deals on very cute dresses at the Ross in Sunset Valley lately. And the Goodwills on the south side also seem to have a lot of cute stuff including some designer stuff and some very lightly worn pieces.
posted by fiercecupcake at 2:56 PM on April 21, 2008

I love love LOVE Room Service on North Loop. It's great for vintage household items that are extremely affordable and it has clothes too. For vintage clothes, I like Flashback on South First.

For new stuff, I swear by Sola on South Lamar. The owner is super sweet and kind of acts like your personal stylist. You can get beautiful, unique dresses for $50, shirts and blouses for around $25 and she has great skirts and pants, too.

The Goodwill on Lake Austin Boulevard is pretty great because it's almost all designer stuff from the wealthier people who live out by Mt. Bonnell and Westlake. I have a great BCBG dress that I got for $8 (and it retails for $250). I also got a classy Ann Taylor suit and some super cute Lucky jeans for cheap!
posted by cachondeo45 at 3:25 PM on April 21, 2008

Do you mean for girls like children or girls like young women? If it's the latter:
Strut is cheap and has some cute stuff. The clothes are a little too nightclubby/sorority partyish for me, but they have a great shoe selection. They have a location on Guadalupe by Amy's if you're looking to stay near campus.
There are several places on the southern end of the Drag like C. Jane and Wish that have cute stuff in the window. They are out of my (cheapskate) price range, so I can't vouch for quality, but they may be in your range.

My main endorsement is Emerald's on North Lamar just North of Waterloo Records. They have some great stuff there and an awesome shoe selection. Their items would fit perfectly in your price range, too.
posted by fructose at 4:21 PM on April 21, 2008

Girls as in young women. We'll be visiting from New York, so we're mostly interested in interestingness. Thanks so far.
posted by dame at 5:13 PM on April 21, 2008

I was in Austin a few weeks ago, and if I hadn't been visiting my boyfriend and reluctant to drag him along on an all-day shopping trip, I would have loved to spend some time on South Congress. Lots of cool looking stores and it appeared pretty walkable, so you cold kinda wander around and see what you see.
posted by MadamM at 7:33 PM on April 21, 2008